US Cable: No cord-cutting evidence

Cable TV and telcos that provide subscription services say industry gains in the fourth quarter returned to normal following a spate of cancellations spurred by the end of discounted pricing.

Comcast announced its loss of 135,000 video subscribers was about a third less than expected as it held onto more customers with better programming, and fewer people dropped service with the expiration of promotional prices offered during the 2009 transition to digital over-the-air broadcasts.

Those losses were more than erased by gains at such rivals as AT&T and Verizon IPTV. Along with an expected gain of about 100,000 video subscribers combined at satellite operators DirecTV and Dish Network, which report next week, the established pay TV industry is on track to add 200,000 to 250,000 TV subscribers in the final three months of 2010, according to Nomura Securities.